The Hospital
by EHfan
Summary: When Jacob is admitted to the hospital he and Rachel come very close to having their relationship revealed to the FBI.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Follows my line of stories that began in "Snow Day." I would say this one takes place approximately 2 months after "Father's Day."

Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I consider this story fair use. Warner Brothers, Jerry Bruckheimer, Stephen Gallaher and others may disagree.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was late in the afternoon and the sudden chirp of a cell phone startled Dr. Jacob Hood. His hand, in the process of adjusting the resolution on the light microscope in his FBI lab, jerked, causing the specimen of lake water to go wildly out of focus. Jacob cursed and glared at the offender, Special Agent Rachel Young.

"Do you _mind_?" he snarled, "I'm trying to work here and I could use a little quiet."

"Hold on," Rachel mumbled into her phone. She returned Jacob's glare. "_Excuse me_; I'll take this in the hall." Getting to her feet she stomped out of the lab, slamming the door behind her.

Jacob sat stiffly until Rachel was out of the lab. His shoulders slumped and he sighed softly. Rubbing his hand over his face, he was turning his attention back to his microscope when he was once again interrupted; this time by a loud harrumph. He looked over at Special Agent Felix Lee with an expression of irritation. "What?"

"A little harsh, don't you think Doc?" Felix looked disapprovingly at Jacob. "I mean, really. I know the NIH has been after you for an analysis of that cyanide bacteria…"

"You mean cyanobacteria," Jacob interjected with a small smile.

"Whatever," Felix waved a hand, "still, that's no call to go snapping at Agent Young. It's not like she made you drop the slide or anything." Felix narrowed his eyes. "You ok? You two ok? And don't tell me it's not my business," Felix continued as Jacob raised his eyebrows. "If the two of you are gonna start having spats in from of me, then yeah, it is my business."

"I'm sorry Felix," Jacob replied formally. "You're right, Rachel and I shouldn't be subjecting you to our fits of temper. But" he raised a hand to forestall Felix's comment. "We're not fighting, it's just..." Jacob sighed and rubbed his face again. "To be honest with you I'm not feeling that great. Rachel has been pestering me all afternoon to go home, and well, it annoyed me. I mean, I'm not going to feel any better sitting around our apartment; besides, the NIH needs this analysis"

The National Institute of Health has called the day before, requesting the assistance of the Special Science Advisor for the FBI. NIH scientists had been researching a connection between cyanobacteria and ALS, or Lou Gehrig's, disease. They had mapped occurrences of ALS all over the country and were looking at disease clusters that appeared in close proximity to the bacteria. They had been surprised to discover that the bacteria sample, from the cluster in New Hampshire, had mutated in an unusual fashion. Unable to determine the cause of the mutation, they had turned to Jacob for help.

A stubborn look came over Jacob's face. "This mutation in the bacteria may be significant. If this is a natural mutation, it could be the key to finding a genetic linkage to ALS disease. I need to find the cause of this mutation now." He turned back to his microscope.

Felix sat back shaking his head in frustration. Talk about an irrestible force and an unmovable object. How in the world did two of the stubbornest people he'd ever met manage to fall in love and get married? If Agent Young had it in her head that it was in the Doc's best interest to get home she wouldn't let up until he agreed. And if the Doc decided that he needed to keep working, then well, he could dig in his heels with the best of them. He settled back into his chair with a magazine, resigned to riding out the coming storm as best he could.

Felix's head snapped up a few minutes later as the lab door opened softly . His eyes widened at the look on Agent Young's face. In all the time they'd worked together, he'd never seen her look like this. She looked almost, Felix searched his memory for the right word, _bereft_. Yeah, that was it, she looked heart-broken.

"Agent Young," he began hesitantly, "you ok? Was that bad news on the phone?"

Rachel entered the lab slowly. She felt a little stunned and a bit heartsick. Felix's questions finally penetrated, she shook her head. "I'm fine, Felix. It's just..." She turned toward Jacob. "Jacob, I'm sorry but I need to talk to you."

Felix's eyebrows rose. This must be serious. Agent Young was scrupulous about always calling the Doc 'Hood' whenever they were working. This must be bad.

Jacob, for his part, turned from his microscope with a theatrical sigh. "_Now_ what?"

Rachel's lips tightened. "That was my friend Amanda on the phone, she's pretty upset, she needs to talk to me, wants me to come over to her place. Since you're not feeling well anyway, would you mind wrapping this up for today? I could take you home and then head over to her."

"Damn it Rachel, I've already told you I'm not going home until I've finished running these tests. I've got a minimum of two hours of work left here tonight. Who the hell is this Amanda and what's so important that I have to stop work?" Jacob's already flushed face darkened in anger, he was oblivious to the distress in Rachel's face.

Felix made a moue of protest. "Doc?"

"You know _perfectly _well who Amanda is," Rachel snapped her voice rising in annoyance. "I was her bridesmaid, she got married in March, right before ..." Rachel stopped short, flushing. She couldn't believe that she almost said "before we did" in the middle of the Hoover Building.

Jacob's lips twitched involuntarily, yes, he did remember Amanda, the one with the dress. "Fine, I do remember her, but why do I need to stop working because she's upset?"

"Because," Rachel explained patiently, "she's had a bad shock, she needs to talk to me, ask my advice. I need to take you home, get you securely settled, before I can go over to her place."

"You can't talk on the phone?" Jacob raised his eyebrows.

Rachel closed her eyes and not so silently counted to ten. "No, this isn't the kind of thing we can talk about on the phone."

"Why not?" Jacob stubbornly crossed his arms across his chest.

Felix made another sound of protest, "Uh, ma'am?"

"It's," Rachel bit her lip and looked up at Jacob, her eyes shiny. She stared at him silently for a few minutes. "Her husband, Greg, is out of town, he's supposed to be gone for two weeks," Rachel blurted out finally. "Amanda was opening the mail. Opened up his AmEx bill. There were charges on it for an escort service. She did some checking and it seems he's been hiring a hooker every week, it's been going on for over a year."

Jacob stared at Rachel, an abstracted expression on his face. "That's, that's hard to believe."

Rachel took a deep breath, but before she could speak Jacob continued his thought. "I mean, you can pay for something like that with a _credit card_? Huh, I would have thought that was the kind of transaction that would be cash only."

Ignoring Rachel's gasp, Felix hurried into speech. Hoping devoutly that this would remind the two of his presence in the room. Unfortunately, his contribution to the conversation heaped fuel on the fire.

"Oh yeah, Doc, if he's dealing with an escort service or a high class call girl, then yeah, they prefer plastic. You only need to go the cash route if you're picking up a hooker in a bar or on the street."

"You pigs!" Rachel exploded. "I can't believe the two of you! _You_," she glared at Jacob, "I tell you that a newly married man is regularly hiring a prostitute and you only express surprise at the method of payment. And _you_," her glare turned to Felix. "You seem to be pretty familiar with the payment options preferred by whores. Personal experience?"

"Agent Young," Felix protested. "No, I'd never do anything..." he trailed off uncertainly in the face of Rachel's anger.

"Still," Jacob interrupted, "Sorry as I am that your friend married a bastard, why does that mean I have to leave important work undone?"

Rachel's lips thinned. "Believe it or not, not everything is about _you_, Dr. Jacob Hood. Just once, just _once_, mind you, do you think it could be about me? I realize that it's my job to follow you around. I have never, in all of the time I've been assigned to your detail, _never_ asked you to modify your actions as a favor; to show some, any, consideration for me. Not once! I can't _believe_ you're being such a jerk about this. It's late. You haven't discovered one freaking thing. You don't feel well, you've been bitching about that ever since lunch, so you'd think..."

"I have _not_ been bitching," Jacob cut in coldly. "I have been _trying_ to work even though you have been nagging me all afternoon."

Felix moaned again, "Guys!"

Jacob suddenly slumped in his seat, eyes closed. "Get out, now. Before we really start saying things we'll regret."

"You know damn well I can't do that," Rachel ground out. "As long as you're here, I'm here."

"Not tonight," Jacob said flatly. "I want you out of my lab, you're interfering with my work. Felix can make sure I get home safely. No," he stopped her protest. "I'm serious, I will take full responsibility with Frank if anyone finds out. So just go, now."

Rachel stared at him. "_Fine_," she said abruptly. Turning on her heel she stormed out of the lab.

Felix looked at Jacob open-mouthed. "Uh, Doc?"

"Don't start with me Felix," Jacob said wearily. "I feel like crap, I need to get these tests run. If Rachel had stayed, we'd only end up, I don't know," he shrugged. "It's best she left." He glanced at the big man ruefully. "And I am sorry you had to be in the middle of that." Smiled gently. "Maybe she'll be more help with her friend Amanda than here."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was close to 9:00 p.m. and Felix was beyond bored. The Doc had spent the last three hours testing the bacteria, the water, and the mud from the lake over and over. He would occasionally wince and grunt as if in pain; but would only glare if asked if he was ok. Felix was rapidly beginning to have a great deal of sympathy for Agent Young. Dealing with an obviously sick and grumpy scientist was no walk in the park.

"Hey Doc, how about I order us a pizza?" Felix asked. He rewarded with a glare that dissolved into a wince.

"I'm sorry Felix," Jacob rubbed his face. "This has been a wasted evening. Not a single test has yielded any significant results. I hate to admit it, but Rachel was right, I might as well have gone home when she wanted me too." He looked at Felix and smiled crookedly, "and if you tell her I said that I'll deny it. Let's get out of here."

Jacob and Felix's heads both turned as the door to the lab opened. Jacob closed his eyes and shook his head. '_Crap'_ he thought, _'Just what I needed, to have Frank show up.'_ Felix grimaced, just their luck, to have the Director show up. Frank and his bodyguard, Ian Kendrick, walked into the lab.

"Jacob, I thought I saw your lights on. What the hell are you still doing here? Still working on that problem for the NIH?" Frank looked around curiously, "Where's Young? Why isn't she here?"

Jacob briefly considered telling Frank that Rachel was in the bathroom, but quickly discarded the notion. With the way his luck was running tonight Frank would stay around waiting for her to reappear. He decided on the truth.

"She's not here. I threw her out a couple of hours ago."

Frank's mouth dropped open. "You what?"

Jacob put his hands to his face, ran them into his hair. "You heard me. Look, I feel like crap, my work has been one dead end after another, and she kept bitching at me to go home. So I told her to get the hell out of here."

"And she just left?" Frank said through gritted teeth. Kendrick and Felix exchanged glances, Young was in for it now.

"Only after I threw her out."

"God damn it Jacob, you can't do that! And what the hell was Young thinking? She knows full well that she's going to be charged with dereliction of duty for this."

"For Christ's sake Frank, _what_ is the problem?" Jacob exploded "I'm working in the freaking Hoover Building. I hardly think I need a bodyguard here. And while Felix may not be a member of the exalted EPD, he's a fully trained, _armed_ federal agent. I'm sure that he's more than capable of seeing me home safely, considering that I live less than ten miles from this building."

Frank raised his eyebrows. "Jacob that may well be the case, but still..."

Jacob took a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry, but I was starting to snap at her too and really, it's probably better for our long-term working relationship that she left tonight before..."

Jacob broke off to moan in pain. Holding on to the bench beside him, he clutched his right side. The others looked on in astonishment, questioning, as Jacob suddenly bent and vomited into the trash can.

"Damn, I think we'd better get me to a hospital, I'm pretty sure I have appendicitis." Breathing heavily Jacob leaned on the bench.

"Uh, sir, should I call 911?" Kendrick asked nervously.

"No," snapped Frank, "They're already bringing my car around, we can get him to the hospital quicker than an ambulance. Lee, help me support his weight, Kendrick, you go ahead and make sure the car is ready and waiting for us." He turned toward his old friend. "Come on Jacob, let's get you out of here."

As Frank and Felix half led, half carried Jacob to the elevator, Jacob turned a worried face to Felix. "Felix," he mumbled, "Rachel."

"Don't worry, Doc, I'll call her." Felix reassured him.

Freely swearing, Frank and a scared Felix manhandled Jacob into the elevator, across the lobby, and into the Director's car. Within minutes, they were at the emergency room of George Washington University Hospital.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Frank briskly took charge as they entered the ER. Sliding Jacob's wallet from his back pocket, he tossed it to Kendrick. "See if he has his medical insurance card is in there, and handle the registration. Lee, you stay with Jacob, I'll get us some help." Flashing his credentials, he soon returned with a nurse and a wheelchair.

"Come on Jacob," urged Frank. "We need to get you into this wheelchair." Between himself, Felix and the nurse, Jacob was soon being wheeled into the treatment area, with Frank striding along beside him, a worried Felix trailing behind.

The nurse stopped at the door, though, and placed a restraining hand on Frank's arm. "I'm sorry sir, but only immediate family are allowed in the treatment area. I'll have to ask you gentlemen to go back to the waiting room."

"Look, I'm the director of the FBI and this is…"

"I'm sorry sir," the nurse was firm. "But hospital and federal regulations strictly forbid anyone but immediate family members being in the treatment area. Now, if Mr." she quickly checked the paperwork in her hand, "Hood's wife or other family member arrives, I'll be glad to escort them to the treatment area, otherwise, I need you to let us do our jobs."

Frank began to argue, but he was cut short by Jacob. His face ashen with pain, Jacob looked up at his friend. "Frank, for God's sake, just call Rachel, let her take care of things. Felix?"

"Right here Doc."

"You know what to do, say."

Frank grunted in annoyance, but he allowed the nurse to take Jacob away without further argument. He turned quickly and strode over to where his bodyguard was dealing with the admission clerk. Kendrick was shaking his head uncertainly, he looked relieved when the Director and Felix approached the counter.

"Ah, sir," he began hesitantly, "they need to know the name of Doctor Hood's wife, or next of kin...?

" Jacob's wife is…" Frank began.

"Not here," Felix cut in quickly. He raised his eyebrows at the Director silently begging him to cooperate and gently elbowed him out of the way. He turned to the clerk. "But I've called Rachel, and she's on her way, she'll be her shortly."

The clerk looked up at Felix, "That's R-a-c-h-e-l?"

Felix smiled at the women, glancing at her name tag. "That's exactly right Keisha. I'll let you know the minute Rachel gets here, I know she'll want to see the Doc right away"

"You do that..." she looked at Felix with a smile.

"Felix."

"You do that Felix, I'll make sure she get escorted back to the treatment area."

"Thanks." He lightly tugged the Director toward the waiting area, calling out to the clerk, "I'll, uh, let you know the minute she gets here."

Before the Director could question him, Felix held up his hand, with a pleading expression on his face. "Uh, sir, could I have a second." Pulling out his cell, he quickly punched in Agent Young's number. "Agent Young, hi, uh,…look the Doc's sick….yeah, you were….it's serious….we're in the ER at GW hospital….Doc thinks it's appendicitis…but there's a problem…..no, no, nothing like that...uh, the Director's here too….yeah…..ok, I'll see you soon."

Felix turned to find the Director glaring at him. Kendrick was looking stunned. Felix smiled weakly. "Now, I'm sure you're wondering sir…."

"They're married?" Frank cut him off sharply. "When in the hell did that happen? And how long have you known about it?"

"Did I say anyone was married?" Felix widened his eyes. "No, sir, I merely said that the Doc's wife wasn't here. I then said that I'd called Rachel and that she was on her way." He smirked at the Director. "Now if the clerk chooses to connect those two facts..."

"That's bullshit!" Frank snapped. "What..." But before he could say more, they were interrupted by a doctor in surgical scrubs.

"Jacob Hood, who's here with Jacob Hood?"

Frank immediately lost interest in Felix. "Here," he said sharply. "We brought Dr. Hood in."

The doctor surveyed the men dismissively. "Are any of you next of kin? Or have Hood's medical power of attorney?"

Frank drew his eyebrows together. Felix gulped and said "Uh, no, but Rachel's coming, she's uh, on her way here."

"Hmm," the doctor frowned. "Well, let us know the minute she gets here. We've started treating Hood. I'd prefer to have her present when I go over the details with him."

He turned to go, but Frank put a restraining hand on his arm. "Wait a second, what do you mean you're treating him? What's the matter with Jacob?" The doctor looked pointedly at the hand on his arm, Frank dropped it quickly.

"I'm sorry, but unless you're his spouse or hold his medical power of attorney, I can't discuss my patient's condition with you." The doctor vanished through the double doors.

Felix looked at the Director and shrugged. "Sir, we need to wait for Agent Young. With all due respect, you being the Director of the FBI, even being an old friend of Doc's, won't count for jack with these people."

"For god's sake you can't..." Frank began hotly.

"Look, they'll ask for paperwork if you claim you have a medical power of attorney. But if they think you're a spouse..." Felix shrugged again. "It's what we do, whenever any of us ends up needing medical attention. We'll get all the info we need once Agent Young gets here."

Frank opened his mouth, but on second thought he snapped it shut. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Lee. _'So does Young pretend to be your spouse?_' he thought. '_Or only Jacob's?'_

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Twenty minutes later Rachel came tearing into the ER. She paused inside the waiting area, looking frantically around for Felix. He took one look at her white face and huge eyes and was grateful the Director and Kendrick had gone up to the cafeteria. There was no way they should be seeing her until she got herself under control. He stood immediately and waved to get her attention. "Agent Young, over here."

Rachel hurried over to him, "Felix, where is he? Is he ok?" Her eyes were brimming with tears.

Felix pulled her into a quick hug, scrubbed his hand up and down her back. "It's, he's ok. They have him back in the treatment area. It must not be too bad, they haven't said anything about it being an emergency."

Rachel hastily wiped her eyes. "You're sure Jacob's gonna be ok? Did they say it was appendicitis? Where's the Director?"

"Nah, you know how hospitals are. It was the Doc who said it was appendicitis." Felix shook his head. "I guess he'd know. The Director's upstairs with Kendrick. I suggested they get some coffee; that we might have to wait awhile." He put an arm around her shoulder. "I'm supposed to let the staff know when you're here. They'll take you right in to see the Doc."

Rachel stood quietly for a few minutes leaning into Felix. She had been so angry with Jacob that she almost didn't pick up when Felix called. Luckily, her training had prevailed. She shuddered, remembering the last, heated words she and Jacob had exchanged. She took a few deep breaths. Pulling away from Felix, she wiped her face again. "Ok, but first, tell me what happened after I left."

Felix pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Not much. Doc kept running tests on all those samples, but nothing was making much sense to him. To be honest, he had decided to pack it in for the night when the Director showed up." He sighed at Rachel's frown. "Yeah, that's pretty much how we felt about it too. The Director started jumping all over Doc about you being gone." He swallowed, "and, uh, the Director started throwing around 'dereliction of duty.'"

"What did Jacob tell him?" Rachel interrupted

For the first time in several hours, Felix grinned. "Doc lost his temper. Told the Director that he threw you out of the lab. Started yelling about how you were interfering with his work so he kicked you out; didn't give you a chance to stay. Said he didn't need you hanging around giving him a hard time. Then he kind of collapsed. Threw up and told us to get him to the hospital 'cause he had appendicitis."

Rachel smiled weakly. "Sounds just like him. He's sick as a dog and he's still trying to protect me." She took a deep breath. "And what's happened here, what have you told the hospital, the Director, about me?"

"I haven't lied," Felix said. "I did like you and the Doc. Mislead people by telling the exact truth. I said that the Doc's wife wasn't here, which you weren't; then I said that I had called "Rachel" and that you were on your way." He shrugged. "They made the connections, not me. I told the Director that's what we do, to get around the medical staff."

Rachel considered the matter carefully. "Thanks for thinking of that Felix. We can work with this; with luck we can brush through this without having to tell the Director about us." One side of her mouth kicked up. "Especially since we can point to that stunt Jacob pulled in Sacramento."

Giving Felix a hug of her own, Rachel smoothed down her jacket. "Ok, let me go see Jacob now."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Frank re-entered the ER and sent a glare in the direction of Agent Lee. The man was propped up against the admissions counter flirting with the clerk. He frowned and snapped at the man, "Lee, has Young arrived yet?"

With a final smile and wink for Keisha, Felix straightened up and turned to the Director. One look at the man's face, clearly showing his annoyance, and Felix hurried into speech. "Ah, sir, why don't we sit over here?" Felix led the Director and Kendrick to some vacant chairs in a far corner. "Agent Young arrived right after you went for coffee. She's back with the Doc now. But according to Keisha, it looks like they're admitting him. Paperwork's been started to transfer him upstairs. She couldn't tell me much, but she did say that the doctor we saw; that's Dr. Wiley. He's on the surgical staff, she figured they must have called him down for a consult."

Felix looked over the Director's head and sighed with relief. Agent Young was heading toward them. He noted with approval that she looked calm and all traces of the tears that threatened to overwhelm her earlier had disappeared. Felix attempted to stand, but Rachel put her hand on his shoulder.

She smiled down at the men reassuringly. "It is appendicitis. He's been given something for the pain plus they've started antibiotics and fluids to counteract the nausea. He'll be moved upstairs soon. The surgery is scheduled for tomorrow at 8:00 a.m."

Frank frowned. "Appendicitis? Why are they waiting to operate? Aren't they afraid that it'll burst?"

Rachel shook her head. "According to the surgeon, they're not worried too much about that. Right now, they're more concerned about controlling the nausea. They want him stable before they operate. That's all the news for right now." She looked at the Director. "I'll call you if Hood's status changes overnight; otherwise, you can expect to hear from me after the surgery."

"You're staying?" Frank looked at her with narrowed eyes.

Rachel flushed. "Yes, sir. I realize, earlier, that I shouldn't have left Hood at the lab. But he, ah, I..." her voice trailed off.

"Yeah, Jacob kind of explained it to me." Frank looked at her sharply. "Under the circumstances, I'm willing to let it go, this time, but Young..."

Rachel swallowed audibly, "Yes sir?"

Frank got stiffly to his feet. "Don't let it happen again. Kendrick, let's get out of here." He turned as he reached the door. "And Young? I'll see you here in the morning."

Rachel sagged as the door closed behind them. "Thank god he's gone." She straightened. "I guess it could have been worse though. I was expecting him to grill me about being Jacob's _wife_"

Felix pursed his lips. "Well, I _did_ tell him we've done this before. When he saw how the hospital wasn't gonna give us any information I think he bought my explanation. But," he added warningly, "he wasn't too happy, so I expect he'll ask you about it tomorrow." He shook his head. "And I gotta tell you ma'am, he, well, his reaction was a little, I don't know, off?" He shook his head again at Rachel's look of inquiry. "I don't know how to explain it, exactly. I mean, he was more surprised than shocked. As if he was half-expecting it."

Rachel nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, Jacob said he thought the Director was getting suspicious." She shrugged. "Oh, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." She gave him a quick hug. "Look why don't you go home and get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Shortly afterward, Jacob was moved from the ER to a room. Smiling down at him Rachel brushed the hair back from his face, laid her hand against his cheek. The touch of her hand on his face roused him.

"Hey," he murmured sleepily. "Don't leave me again." Jacob reached for Rachel's hand, but the painkiller had left him disoriented and he had trouble connecting. "Sorry about before," he mumbled. "Didn't mean to be such a jerk."

Rachel bent and brushed a kiss across Jacob's forehead. "It's ok, baby. I'm not going anywhere," she whispered. She unclipped the holster from her waistband and laid it and her weapon on the bedside table. She slid into the bed beside him. Moving slowly and carefully, she put her arms around him, resting his head on her shoulder; making sure that she didn't disturb the IV line attached to his hand or the wires attached to his chest.


	2. Chapter 2

Frank Fuller stared at the traffic as his car slowly made its way to the George Washington University Hospital. The unease he was feeling had nothing, he was sure, to do with the fact that one of his oldest friends was there. Frank snorted lightly, after all the crap he and Jacob had gotten up to in college; a visit to the hospital wasn't that big of a deal. Frank smiled briefly to himself. He was alone in the back seat, his bodyguard and driver up front; he wondered what the two of them would think of some of the escapades he and Jacob had been involved in. He shook his head, probably wouldn't believe them; Frank knew they thought of him as an old man.

His uneasiness stemmed from his conversation with his wife, Karen, late last night. Frank was accustomed to using her as his sounding board. They were high-school sweethearts who had married shortly after college. She had been with him though a lot; she literally was his other half. She refused to take his concerns about Jacob and Young seriously. She had laughed when he told her how and why Lee had led the hospital personnel to believe that Young was Jacob's wife. When he objected, said the story was bullshit, she had disagreed. She thought Lee's outlandish story was feasible. After all, she pointed out, it was the kind of thing Jacob would do; he wasn't one to take kindly to what he saw as pointless bureaucratic red tape. Was it any surprise that his attitude had rubbed off on the agents who worked closely with him?

What really threw him was Karen's attitude to the possibility that Jacob had developed an intimate relationship with Young. He had hesitantly broached the subject with her. Told Karen that while he was prepared to_, maybe_, accept Lee's story, he did suspect, well, that their relationship had crossed the line. She had asked if it would really be such a bad thing. She was pleased to think that Jacob had someone in his life. That he had finally moved on from Maggie's death; was happy again. She only hoped that it was a real relationship; not just two lonely people falling into bed together. When he tried to explain to her how inappropriate it would be for Jacob's bodyguard to be involved with Jacob personally she had only snickered; said he should be pleased his agent would take such a deep, personal interest in the body she was guarding.

As Frank made his way through the hospital he continued his internal debate. It wasn't as if he had any proof they were involved. Hell, yes, it was obvious they were close, but they had been working together for almost three years now. Any two partners working together for that length of time would develop a bond. But to go so far as to claim…? Frank shook his head. Young was an appealing woman, pretty and intelligent; and he knew, better than most, that Jacob was no saint. He was going to have to question her about this _wife_ crap. He was mostly sure there wasn't anything there; but he couldn't afford to ignore something that was shoved right in his face. Especially considering that Kendrick had been present. The man knew better than to gossip about what he heard or saw on his detail; still, things had a way of leaking out. He needed to get an explanation from Young as soon as possible.

Frank stopped at the entrance to the surgical waiting room. Even though it was barely 8:00 a.m. Young and Lee were both present. He had expected Young; he was mildly impressed that Lee had beaten him there. Young was calmly reading a magazine. Frank shrugged. Maybe, just maybe, this act was just that, an act.

Frank cleared his throat, "Young, Lee." He waved at both of them to remain seated. He sat opposite Young; Kendrick remained discreetly by the door. "What's the latest news?"

"Sir." Rachel laid her magazine aside, took off her glasses and sat up straighter. "Hood had a quiet night." She grinned. "The painkiller they gave him knocked him out. They took him down to surgery a little after 7:00, we haven't heard much since then. I do know that they plan to remove the appendix laparascopically; that's sort of their specialty here. If all goes as expected, Hood should be discharged in a couple of days."

Frank grunted. So far so good. Since Jacob seemed to be in good hands, he could concentrate on the problem at hand. "I'm glad to see that you have things under control here, _Mrs. Hood._"

Rachel raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me, sir, but I don't believe I ever told anyone I was Mrs. Hood." She looked over at Felix. "Agent Lee, did you tell those nice nurses and doctors downstairs I was Mrs. Hood?"

Felix was the picture of innocence. "Why, no Agent Young, I didn't. I _did _say that the Doc's wife wasn't with us when we first came in." He cocked his head to one side. "And I do believe that I said immediately after that I had called you and you were on your way." He shook his head. "Not my fault if they make assumptions."

"An assumption you did nothing to clear up." Frank ground out.

A slight smile played on Rachel's lips. "Well, sir, you know how doctors, nurses, are. Hate to be told they might be mistaken. And we never outright lied to them." She looked at him solemnly, "_That_ would be wrong."

"Cut the crap you two," Frank burst out angrily. "What the hell is really going on here?"

Rachel looked the Director squarely in the eye. "HIPAA."

"What?" Frank was confused.

Rachel shrugged. "The privacy provisions in HIPAA. Unless you've signed waivers, they can't, won't give out patient information. It's our experience that if you say you have a medical power of attorney; they want to see the paperwork. But, well, they take your word for it if you claim to be a spouse." A small smile touched her lips. "They never ask to see a marriage license. Technically, they're still not supposed to give you any information without the patient's consent, but if you're a concerned spouse and the patient is kind of out of it..." Rachel shrugged again.

Frank's mouth hung open. "No one's ever called you on this crap?"

"Nope." A snort of laughter escaped Rachel. "Not even that time in Sacramento."

Felix stood suddenly and shot a glare at Rachel. "I'll go and see if the floor nurse has an update for us." He stalked from the waiting room.

Frank stared after him in confusion. "What the hell? What happened in Sacramento? And I thought you said they wouldn't tell Lee anything."

Rachel fought a smile and lost. "Felix hurt his ankle in Sacramento, chasing a suspect. I had to question the guy and Hood insisted on accompanying Felix to the emergency room. Well...," Rachel couldn't suppress another snort of laughter. "It was California after all."

Frank's began to smile. "Oh, no, Jacob didn't...?" He shook his head when Rachel nodded. "Yeah, Jacob always did have a bizarre sense of humor." The smile left his face as he looked up the hallway to where Felix was talking to the floor nurse. "They don't seem to be worrying about HIPAA now."

"The situation has evolved." Rachel titled her head. "They have Felix pegged as my friend, here to support me. Telling him is the same as telling me. Plus," she rolled her eyes. "Felix is an expert at worming information out of people. Give him enough time and he'll have the whole nursing staff eating out of his hand."

"So, you're Jacob's _wife_, solely to get information?" Frank questioned.

Rachel considered her answer carefully. "No. It also makes my job easier. Hospitals like to think they have good security. If I'm here as Hood's bodyguard, I'm going to have to argue, throw my weight around. I practically have to explain myself and my presence to every shift of nurses." She shrugged. "As his spouse, they accept my presence completely." She grinned suddenly. "They even try to make it pleasant for me. Get me coffee, let me have food from their private stashes. Hell, last night they even wheeled a gurney into Hood's room for me to sleep on."

Rachel didn't think it was necessary to explain to the Director exactly why the nurse had provided the gurney. How the nurse had woken her in the middle of the night when she had come to check Jacob's vitals. The nurse had gently scolded her for crawling into bed with Jacob; had shaken her head when Rachel refused to go home. Minutes later the gurney had appeared. The two women had pushed it against Jacob's bed so that Rachel could sleep within arm's length of him.

They were interrupted by Felix. He strolled back into the waiting room with a self-satisfied smile on his face, tucking his notebook into his jacket pocket. Rachel looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Well, what did you get, aside from her phone number?"

"I did much better than that," Felix replied with a smirk. "I got a date for dinner." He paused thoughtfully, "I was thinking of taking her to that Italian place near your building. That..."

"Damn it!" Frank cut in. "You were supposed to find out something useful."

"I did," Felix protested. "They started surgery early. That doctor we saw last night? Dr. Wiley? He's the one doing the operation. Seems he's a real stickler about procedure, punctuality. One of those, 'if you're five minutes early, you're late', kind of guys. So the whole operating team was in place before 8:00. Plus, he decided to use the Doc's operation as an example; show all the new residents how to do an appy the _right_ way. Now according to Gloria, an appy usually takes about two hours. But Dr. Wiley, he prides himself on how fast he can do one, he can finish one up in about an hour and a quarter. She figures we should hear from him in about 45 minutes."

Frank blinked. If this was a sample of the kind of information Lee could get out of people, no wonder Jacob and Young had agreed to his assignment. The man might not look it, but he was obviously a skilled interrogator. He had managed to get all of the salient facts, some helpful gossip, and a dinner date in less than ten minutes.

The foursome settled down to wait with varying degrees of patience. Frank pulled out his Blackberry and began busily attending to his email. Rachel went back to her magazine while Felix and Kendrick quietly carried on a conversation in the corner.

In what seemed like no time at all, the surgeon appeared in the doorway. "Mrs. Hood?"

Rachel quickly approached the doctor. "How is he?" Were there any complications? Is everything all right?"

"The surgery went well," Dr. Wiley reassured her. "The appendix was inflamed, but it didn't burst, so we don't need to worry about infection. Your husband's general health is excellent, so he should make a full recovery quickly."

Rachel closed her eyes and silently gave a sigh of relief. She glanced at Felix and quickly flicked her eyes in the direction of the door. The big man nodded imperceptibly and slipped down the corridor toward the nurses' station.

Rachel returned her attention to the surgeon. "When can I take him home?"

"I'll need to check him on my rounds tomorrow morning," Dr. Wiley said. "But if he doesn't develop a fever or any other complications, I would say he could be discharged in 48 hours."

"That soon!" Frank exclaimed.

Dr. Wiley looked at him and raised his eyebrows. "As long as there is no infection, yes, that soon." He looked pointedly at Rachel. "Do _you_ have any other questions?"

Rachel smothered a smile. "Not right now, thank you."

Dr. Wiley nodded and turned to leave. As he reached the door, he hesitated and turned back to Rachel. "Umm, Mrs. Hood, is your husband a research chemist, by any chance?"

Rachel looked surprised. "No, he's a biophysicist. Why?"

"Well, it's just..." Dr. Wiley trailed off. "It's just, when he was in pre-op, he had been mildly sedated, but anesthesia hadn't been administered yet. The nurse was cleaning his lower abdomen, at the site for the incisions." Dr. Wiley looked puzzled. "Well, suddenly, he sort of woke up, seemed perfectly lucid. He grabbed her hand and said 'its triclosan, tell Rachel its triclosan.' Does that make any sense to you?"

"Triclosan?" Rachel frowned.

"Yes." Dr. Wiley nodded. "It's an antibacterial agent, the main ingredient in sanitizers. The nurse thought at first that's what he was referring to, that he didn't want her using the sanitizer on him."

"But why would that make you ask if he's a chemist?"

Dr. Wiley shrugged. "I know the FDA is investigating the possibility that triclosan is a carcinogen. I wondered if he was involved in that work."

Rachel smiled faintly. "No, he works for the FBI, not the FDA." A thoughtful look crossed her face. "I wonder though."

Dr. Wiley blinked. "FBI, huh? Well, he seemed pretty insistent that you know."

Rachel thanked the doctor absently and barely registered his departure. She seemed lost in thought. "Sanitizers? I wonder if something like that..."

Frank looked at her in confusion. What the hell did sanitizers have to do with anything? Obviously Jacob was high on pain meds, what was Young thinking? He looked around in irritation. And where did Lee get to? His train of thought was interrupted by Felix's return.

"Ok, ma'am," he said. "Gloria told me they've transferred the Doc to the ICU until the anesthesia wears off. Then they'll take him back to his room. She'll get you in the ICU to wait with him if you want, or you could just wait upstairs."

Rachel snapped back to attention. "Thanks Felix. Tell Gloria I'll wait in the ICU. While I'm there, I need you to go back to the Hoover Building. Get Hood's laptop and the files he was working on yesterday and bring 'em over here. And Felix?" She chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. "That water he was testing? Ask one of the chemists at the Bureau to test it for triclosan."

"You got it," Felix nodded as he noted down Rachel's instructions. "How about Doc's go-bag? Want me to swing by and pick it up for him?"

"Yeah, good idea," Rachel said. "And Felix, while you're at it, could you pick up mine too?"

Felix nodded and with a muttered farewell to the Director, he quickly left.

"What the hell is going on here?" Frank demanded. "Why do you need Jacob's laptop and files?"

Rachel stared at him for a minute, marshalling her thoughts. "I don't need them, but Hood will the minute he wakes up. It sounds like something floated to the top of his brain last night, something to do with this triclosan. If I know Hood, he's going to want to go digging for answers." She shrugged, "if he can't get to his files, I had better get his files to him."

Frank looked at Rachel incredulously. "What do you mean; it sounds like he thought of something last night? You said it yourself; he was out on pain meds last night. This triclosan stuff is probably nothing."

Rachel shook her head. "No, that would be too much of a coincidence, and we don't believe in coincidences." She cocked her head and regarded the Director. "No, I can't believe that Hood spent all day yesterday investigating a mutation in a bacteria, and then wakes up this morning muttering about an antibacterial agent."

Frank remained skeptical. "Fine, I suppose time will tell, but I still say this is just a wild goose chase." He turned to pick up his briefcase. "Kendrick, let's get out of here." Frank paused as they reached the door, "And Young, tell Jacob I'll be by to see him."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was actually two days later, late in the evening when Frank, with Kendrick in tow, finally returned to the hospital. Since mid-morning of the day before his schedule, thanks to Jacob, had been a shot to hell. He had received phone calls. Polite and deferential from Lee; respectful but firm from Young; and finally outright badgering from Jacob himself. They all followed the same pattern – could he please use his influence to call, to ask, to tell..." He in turn had made many, many calls on behalf of his special science advisor and his team. He smiled to himself as he remembered Jacob's last call only a few hours ago. _'Damn it Frank, what good is it being Director of the FBI if you can't get a stupid bastard arrested?'_ Karen was right; Jacob didn't have any tolerance for bureaucratic red-tape.

He owed Young an apology. The triclosan was important. Young had harassed the Bureau chemists about analyzing the water Jacob had been sent by the NIH. They had grumbled; they had cases of their own to work on. That had marked the first call for assistance. Then two things happened and, from Frank's perspective, things had spiraled out of control. The chemists confirmed that there were unusually high levels of triclosan in the water. Then, Jacob woke up. Frank shook his head over the second occurrence. Though still in pain and a bit woozy from the anesthesia, Young had been correct. As soon as Jacob was conscious, he wanted to find the answer to the problem he discovered.

Once it had been confirmed that triclosan was the problem, Young and Lee quickly found the most likely source. Some inspired investigative work on Young's part uncovered a regional plastics manufacturing plant that had problems with the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. They had been heavily fined the year before by the DEC for dumping their waste into the local river. Young and Lee had uncovered indications that rather than spend the money to properly dispose of the waste; the company had loaded it into metal canisters, driven them across the state line, and dumped them into the lake in New Hampshire. Predictably, the canisters had rusted, allowing the triclosan to leak into the water. The high levels of triclosan had caused not only the bacteria mutation, but also produced dangerously elevated levels of dioxins in the water. As the lake served as the primary source of water for the nearby town, it constituted a severe health hazard.

Thanks to Jacob and his team, Frank's last two days had been taken up making the calls necessary to nail down the case. Calls to the NIH, the Center for Disease Control, the Vermont DEC, the FBI field offices in Albany and Boston, and the state police of both Vermont and New Hampshire. He shook his head recalling the bureaucratic, jurisdictional nightmare this case represented. He had had trouble making Jacob understand that the only reason he could intervene at all was because the stupid bastards had driven the toxic waste across state lines. He figured he would have even more trouble explaining to Jacob why the matter wasn't settled yet. It was one thing to _know_ what happened. It was something else entirely to be able to _prove_ it in a court of law. Jacob had always been impatient with the difference.

The door to Jacob's room was open and Frank paused as the sound of voices could be clearly heard in the hallway. Frank raised his eyebrows at Kendrick, who was beginning to grin.

"You are being _completely_ irrational." Jacob could be heard saying clearly.

"We are not," Rachel replied, "having this conversation _again_."

"I hardly think that _you_ telling _me_ what I'm going to be doing is a conversation."

"I am not _telling_ you anything. I am merely _repeating_ your doctor's orders. It's not _my_ fault you don't like the orders."

"And _I_ keep telling you that they aren't _orders_, they're _suggestions_. I'm perfectly able to go to work if I feel like it."

"Like I said, we are _not_ having this conversation again."

Frank leaned against the open door and gazed at Young and Jacob. Jacob was sitting up with his arms crossed against his chest, glaring at Young. She was sitting on a chair at the foot of the bed, her feet propped up on the bed frame, reading a newspaper.

"I don't know, you two sure as hell argue like married people." Behind him, Kendrick let out a snicker.

"I believe Rachel explained that to you," Jacob replied stiffly. "If you're not satisfied..."

Frank took the chair Rachel vacated as soon as he entered the room. "Nah, I'm good." He shook his head. "I've know you for over twenty years Jacob, and Lord knows I've seen, heard you do stranger things to get your own way. So, how are you doing?"

"Fine, they're letting me out in the morning. And," Jacob continued through gritted teeth, "I'd appreciate it if you'd explain to Special Agent Young that I do not perform _manual labor_ in my position as the special science advisor to the FBI. So there is no reason why I can't go back to work tomorrow."

Frank looked at Rachel inquisitively.

"Sir, if you could explain to _Dr_. Hood that his degree is in _physics_, not medicine, and if his doctor says that he can't work for two weeks then..."

"If you could tell Special Agent Young..." Jacob tried to interrupt.

Frank burst out laughing. "No scrape that, you two don't argue like married people, more like a couple of eight year olds." He regarded Jacob with amusement. "What's next, you stick your tongue out and tell her she's not the boss of you?"

Frank looked at Rachel. "Give me a status report Young."

"Yes sir, Hood's doctor cleared him for discharge in the morning. _Provided_," she arched an eyebrow at Jacob, "he has a quiet night and his incisions remain uninfected. He prescribed a course of antibiotics for his first three days out of the hospital as a precaution due to the inflammation of the appendix.

Hood has a follow-up appointment to check his progress in two weeks. Prior to that time, the doctor ordered complete rest. If the follow-up appointment is satisfactory, then Hood can return to work."

"Which is absurd." Jacob was seething. "I've been working since I woke up with no ill effects, I don't know why _anyone _would think I can't go back to work tomorrow."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "You've hardly been working. You've run a few computer searches, made some phone calls, and that's it."

She turned to Frank. "It was one thing to allow him to wrap up a project he had been working on. You know as well as I do sir, that if he gets anywhere near the Hoover Building he'll get involved in something and insist that he has to go out into the field."

Jacob opened his mouth to protest, but Rachel held up her hand. "No, you know I'm right. What was it that friend of yours said? That you're all about first-hand observation.

Sir, his doctor says he needs to rest, to allow his incisions time to heal. And that's not going to happen if he's working on a case. He's already tried to bully Felix into booking us seats on a flight to Manchester."

Frank looked at his old friend in astonishment. "What in the hell were you thinking? What good would you be in New Hampshire?"

"Well, _you_ didn't seem to be making any progress," Jacob said sulkily. "I thought if I ..."

"Oh no," Frank responded. "Young is absolutely right. There's no way you belong anywhere near the Hoover Building. And," his eyes lit up with amusement, "since I _am_ the boss of you, I'm ordering you to follow your doctor's orders to the letter."

"Fine." Jacob slumped back against the raised head of his bed. "But if I have to take two weeks off, we're going to spend them in Deale."

Rachel and Frank both blinked at him.

Jacob smiled reluctantly. "Look, I know, I'm a bad patient. If I'm stuck in my apartment for two weeks, I'll only drive myself crazy and Rachel along with me. At least the house in Deale is big enough that we won't feel like we're cooped up together."

Frank frowned thoughtfully. "You've got a point. Plus, it'll be a lot more pleasant down there by the Bay than here in the city. But what will you do to keep yourself occupied?"

"Well, my books and papers are all in the library there." Jacob replied. "The editors at the _Biophysical Journal_ have been after me to peer-review an article by my replacement at Stanford. This will give me a chance to get that done."

Frank nodded in approval. A nice, safe academic problem was just the thing to keep Jacob occupied during his convalescence. Keep him out of mischief and keep Young from killing him. More importantly, it would keep Jacob out of his hair. He then launched into an account of how the case in New Hampshire was shaping up. Frank and Jacob had begun a spirited argument over the Constitutional limits on collecting evidence when they were interrupted by a nurse. The nurse shooed Frank and Kendrick from the room, announced that visiting hours were over. She then strong-armed Jacob into taking another dose of his pain meds.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Jacob yawned; he looked at Rachel and patted the bed beside him. "Come on; let me hold you before the damned pain pill knocks me out."

"Fine, but be careful, I don't want to jar your incisions." Rachel carefully slid into the bed beside Jacob. She lay on her side, with her head on his shoulder, gently resting her hand on his chest.

Jacob snorted as he took her in his arms and firmly pulled her against him. "I'm not going to break Rachel." He laughed softly, "Besides my incisions are, uh, lower? You're not going to hurt them or me."

He lay for a while enjoying the feel of Rachel in his arms again. The day before was still hazy, he hated taking heavy duty narcotics. He kissed top of her head and pulled her closer.

"So," he finally said, "how's your friend Amanda?

"What, where did that come from?"

"I'm interested Rachel, I feel badly. You're friend needed you and, well, first I acted like a jerk, and then I took you away from her. Did you get anything settled before Felix called you?"

Rachel twisted in Jacob's arms so that she could look into his face. "Yes, you acted like a jerk, but you were sick, and I wasn't all that sympathetic, so we're even on that one. And as for taking me away from her," She reached up and ran her fingers along his cheek, "you are my _husband_, Jacob, no friend is more important to me than you. Yes, it was bad timing, but you come first."

Rachel hesitated. "We had about finished talking anyway." She shook her head at Jacob's look of skepticism. "No, really. Amanda had already confirmed the details about the hookers before I got there. We got the main point settled pretty quickly. We, ah, we were talking logistics when Felix called."

"The main point?" Jacob was puzzled. "What does that mean? And what logistics?"

"If she should leave him, if the marriage was over." Rachel replied softly. "I mean, there are some things that are deal-breakers, that can't be forgiven. I mean," the breath caught in Rachel's throat, "he's been cheating on her since they got married." Rachel buried her face in Jacob's neck, "and before. I should have told her."

"Told her what? Why would you have thought, known about the prostitutes?"

"I should have told her that he made a pass at me." Rachel's voice was filled with pain. "If I had, she would have called off the wedding, wouldn't be faced with this now."

"The bastard made a pass at you! His wife's friend?" Jacob was quietly furious. "That miserable son of a bitch. When, how? And why didn't you tell me?"

"It was two days before the wedding. Remember, I took a week's vacation, so that I wouldn't have to worry about getting called out of town?" Jacob nodded. "Well, it turned out you _did_ get called out on a case. I didn't tell you, 'cause I didn't want to upset you while you were on the road. And later, well, it seemed pointless.

It the night of his bachelor party. He called me late, said that he was pretty tipsy and didn't like the way the party was getting rowdy. Asked me to pick him up and drive him home. Said he was calling me 'cause he didn't want Amanda to know that his buddies had hired strippers. When I got there, he, well, he tried to, you know..."

Jacob swore softly at the pain he heard in Rachel's voice. "It's ok sweetheart, there was nothing you could have done."

"I should have told her, I shouldn't have let her marry him, knowing what he was really like."

"No," Jacob was firm. "She most likely wouldn't have believed you then. She was in love with him, might have even blamed you. Hell, the bastard would probably have told her that _you_ were the one who made a pass at _him_. It might have ruined your friendship, so you couldn't be here for her now, when she needs you."

Jacob tipped Rachel's face up to his, kissed her gently. "I only wish I had been there for you." He settled her head back on his shoulder. "So what were the logistics?"

"How she should confront him. If she should call, or go to where he is or if she should wait until he got home."

"What did she decide?"

"To call him. Let him know what she found out. That she was moving out."

"She's sure about all this? There's no chance that it was a mistake? Or that he was, I don't know, hiring the hookers for someone else?"

Rachel shook her head. "No, he pretty much admitted it. Went ballistic about her opening his mail. She's looking for a place now. She wants to find someplace as quickly as possible. He's a lawyer, out of town for a trial; she's afraid that it will settle and he'll show up before she can move."

"Why doesn't she use your place?" Jacob shrugged. "That way she'll have some breathing space, won't have to be in such a hurry."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, I know I have some stuff down there, but not the amount I'd have if I was really living there."

"You can say that I let you move some things up to my place to give her some room." Jacob shifted, looked at Rachel. "If she does guess, would that be so terrible? She's your friend Rachel; surely we could count on her discretion? It's not like she works for the Bureau."

Jacob yawned again. "Look, why don't you call her. It's not that late. See if she's even interested. If she is, we, you, can pretend to move your stuff, get her the keys tomorrow. We can go down to Deale late tomorrow or the next day."

Rachel lay quietly for a few moments thinking about what Jacob proposed. It _would_ make things a little easier for Amanda. But it felt as if she and Jacob were getting reckless, pushing the boundaries of their secret. Sure, the Director seemed to believe their story. But maybe he wanted to bide his time, talk to Jacob alone. Maybe it was the pain meds talking, but Jacob didn't seem to care if her friend knew that they were, at the very least, living together. She smiled to herself. _'What was that saying? Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead?'_

Rachel looked at Jacob, realized his eyes had closed. She came to a decision. She _would_ call Amanda and offer her apartment as a temporary refuge. She kissed Jacob on the cheek and slipped out of the bed. Maybe this time in Deale would be good for them. Would give them an opportunity to have a serious discussion about their future. She hoped she could convince Jacob that they should try to keep their relationship private for as long as possible. She wasn't ready to quit the Bureau, to not be with him every day.

Jacob's eyes snapped open once he heard the door to his room close. He fished under his tongue and removed the pill. He looked at it carefully. _'Didn't dissolve that much, I should be fine.' _ He shook his head in exasperation as he tucked the pill in a tissue and pitched it into the wastebasket near the bed. He had told the nurses and Rachel that he didn't need such strong pain meds. He hated the way his brain felt after taking narcotics. The pain wasn't that bad, he could make do with the over the counter stuff his doctor suggested he take after his discharge.

Jacob sighed. It was getting more complicated, hiding their relationship. Hell, Frank wasn't a fool; he had to be getting more than a little suspicious. He also was beginning to hate that he couldn't be a real part of Rachel's life; that they had lied to her father. He was glad they were going to spend some time in Deale. It would give them time to discuss their future. But even so, he wasn't sure he was ready for the changes that going public would bring. It was selfish, but he wasn't ready to give up having Rachel as his partner; give up working with her daily. He hoped Rachel wasn't ready to go to Frank with the truth, was happy with the status quo.


End file.
